Machine for producing insulating sleeves



Dec. 3, 1929. J. W. ,CHANNELL MACHINE FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES Filed Feb. '7, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet m m. m m

Jill/canned A TTORNEY Dec. 3, 1929. J. w. CHANNELL MACHINE FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES Filed Feb. 7, 1928 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. J WC/mmnell A TTORNEY Dec. 3, 1929. J. w. CHANNELL MACHINE FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES Fil F 1928 s Sheets-Sheet s IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNIT-ED ZTIS JAMES CHANNELL, OF SOUTHGATE, CALIEORNIA,..ASSIGNOE.TO ,AMERIGAN TELE- PHONE..A'N D TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION (3F NEW YORK MACHINE FOR PRODUCING IIIB'ULATING SLEEVES Application filed February 7, 1928.

In the splicing of electrical conductors, particularly those used in telephonecables, which are of relatively fine wire insulated with paper, it is customaryto insulate the bare section of twisted wire by means of a section of braided cotton sleeving. The section employedfor this purpose,-commonly known as a sleeve, is usuallyabout three inches 1on and the method heretofore employed for producing such sleeves is as follows In order to drive off such moisture as the cotton in its natural state hasabsorbed, and also to prevent the absorption of moisture after the sleeve hasbeen employedin the. splicing of a a le, a length of cotton sleeving is impregnated by immersing itin melted paraffin maintained at a fairly high temperature, the

sleeving being kept in the paraffinuntil all moisture has beendriven therefrom and thorough impregnation has taken place. The amount of the sleeving impregnated at any one time dependsupon variousfactors, such as thenumber of conductors to be spliced and the rate of splicing. iAfter the sleevi'ng has cooled itis cut into sections of desired length by the splicers helper. These sections, which .are in a flattened condition not unlike, in appearance, a piece of cotton tape, mustbe expanded. and formed substantially cylindrical, in order toren'der themreadily usable by the splicer. For this purpose, thesplicers helper employs a sleeve-punch of suitable diameter which, when inserted into the tubing, expands it, thus forming a-cylindrical tube of such diameter as will permit it to slip readily overthe twisted joint to beinsulated thereby.

Usually this preliminary-work on the sleev ing is done by the splicers helper during the time-when he must remain on the street to guard the open" manhole in which the splicer is working. ll hereloealtrafiic conditions Serial 1100252531.

.manhole, therhelper could be employed in the manhole. to-assist the splicer in workupon the cable, 1f it were not necessary for the l helper to prepare the sleeves. It will thereforeube apparent thatif the sleeving were impregnated, out andpunched before it is furnished tothe splicer on eaohvjob, the helpers services could then be employed directly in the. making of. the splice.

The .copending application of Reed and ()dell, Serial No. 40,615, filed-June-SO, 1925,

discloses an arrangementr'for producing cotton sleeves in which. anflS-shaped mandrel is employed for expanding the tube, thesaid mandrel being supported: by rollers, having. roughened grooves therein, which grip the sleevingendforceit over the man'drel. In

: thesystem therein disclosed, the: expansion of j the sleeving is a continuous operation the expandedsleeving being cut into desired lengths without interruptingthecontinuity of the expanding operation.

The invention consists in a method and means'l'or expanding collapsible 'sleeving and for cutting it into sections of desired length,

the said anethodbeing characterized by a periodic stopping of the expanding operation in order to permit the severance of the section of sleeving previously expanded.

trier objects and novel features of this invention will be apparent from the following description when read in CODllGCtlOILWltlI the attached drawing, ofwvhichFigure 1 is a top view of the machine having a portion represented as broken in order to facilitate de-.

scription of the mechanismyFig. 2 is a front new of the machinewith the motor om tted;

Fig. 3 is a side view (along theline CC of 'Fig. 1), serving to illustrate the cutting ap- 6; Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of the bearing supports asseen 'from the under side of Fig. 2. -Fig. 7shows a receiving rod-which serves to receive the sleeving: as expanded by the mandrel and at the same time to keep the mandrel in position between the camsduring the expanding operation 5 aFigs. .8,- 9i and .10

show details of the mechanism by which the receiving rod is withdrawn from the expand ed sleeving to permit the cutting thereof; Figs. 11 and 12 are details of the bearings for the cam shafts; Fig. 13 is a detail of the knife-holder; and Fig. l l is an isometric view of the machine as viewed from the cutting end. The figures showing details have not been drawn to the same scale, since they are intended solely for the purpose of aiding in the description 01" the invention.

As will be seen from Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 1 1, a source of power, such the motor 1, is connected by means 01 the bevelled pinion 2 with a bevelled gear 3, the shaft 4 of which is shown in Fig. 2. This shaftcarries a pinion 5 (see Figs. 1 and 2) which meshes with the gears 6 and 7, which gears in turn mesh with gears 8 and 9. Thus the gears 6 and 7, which are driven directly by the pinion 5, in turn serve to rotate the gears 8 and 9. The gear 7 arries a cam 10 which cyclically engages the crank 11 to operate the mechanism that withdraws the receiving rod l? from the sleeving. In like manner, the

ing downward from a pla is through the line AA of Fig. 2. These propelling cams are designed to be 1n contact with the sleeving during only a portion of the time of revolution 01 their shafts in order that the sleeve propelled by them will be at rest during the interval of cutting. As will be seen in Fig. a, a portion of the mandrel 13 is arranged to lie between the cams 15, 16, 17 and 13. The shafts of these cams are so mounted that the separation between them may be varied at will, but may be fixedly held in any desired position. This will be seen in Fig. 5 wherein the bearing supports 19 and 20 (which are shown in detail in Fig. 11) serve to carry the bearing plates 21, 22, 23 and 2% (shown in detail in Fig. 12), which support the lower ends of the shafts upon which the cams 15 to 18 are mounted. The bearing plates have pins inserted through their outer ends and springs, such as 25 and 26, serve to draw thebea-ring plates together. This brings the cams associated with the shafts supported by those bearing plates in closer relation with each other. As will subsequently be seen, it is desirable to control the pressure of the propellin cams upon the sleeving as it passes over the enclosed mandrel. This pressure is governed by means of the adjusting device, consisting of the arm 27 to which ar connected the links 23 and 29 which have associated therewith the hexagonal nuts that lie between the bearing plates. hen the arm 27 is moved, the two links 28 and 29 are rotated and the hexagonal nuts 30 and 31 are turned. The inner edges of the bearing plates, such as 21 and 22, are noriirmlly in contact with parallel sides of the nut 30, so that any rotation of the nut will tend to vary the separation of the bearing plates.

The means for withdrawin the re:

:eivmg rod 47 comprises the rod 32 which is connected with one arm of the crank 11. The other end of the rod 32 is connected with an arm of the crank 33. The other arm of this crank is connected by the rod with a trigger 35 (shown in detail in Fig. 10) which is carried by the sliding block 36 (see Fig. 9), which moves within the guides of the slide 37 (see Fig. 8). The rod 47 is ri idly tened to the block 36. The slide 3'! not only serves to guide the block 36 but, as will be seen from Fig. 8, it has an end portion 3 d which serves as a bearing for the receiving rod 1-7. The end portion 39 also has a pin 40 associated therewith which coacts with the detent i1 of the trigger 35, shown in Fig. 10, so as to hold rigid the reciprocating mechanism during the interval in which the propelling cams are forcing the sleeving over the mandrel and onto the receiving rod.

The cutting mechanism, shown in detail in F ig. 3, comprises a bell-crank 42, one arm of which is connected with the knife-holder 43, which is shown in detail in Fig. 13. This knife-holder is arranged to carry a thin blade which is rea lily removable therefrom by the loosening of two screws. The holder has an arm at the right-hand end which is slidably supported by a bearing 41-, as shown in Fig. 3, which bearing is capable of vertical adjustment. This arrangement enables the cutting edge of the blade to be properly adjusted to the sleeving.

The invention will be apparent from the following description of the method of operating the'aforcdescribed mechanism: A roll of cottonsleeving, which previously has been boiled in parafhn for the removal of moisture, is placed upon the supporting rod 15. The sleeving is fed through the eye of the guide 46 and under the straightening roller 51, the pressure of which upon the sleeving is capavb-le of being adjusted by means or the knurled nut 48. This roller serves to keep the slceving from twisting. The sleeving is then fed over the mandrel 13 (see Figs. 4 and 6) until the sleeving is in such position as to be gripped by the propelling cams. The mandrel is held in position between the propelling cams by the rod 17 during the interval in which the camsare forcing the sleeving over the mandrel. During this part of the cycle of operation, the sliding block or carriage 36 is at the left-hand end of the slide 37' (as shown in Fig. 2) and is held there by the coaction of the trigger with the pin 40. 'As the motor rotates, the propelling cams 15,16, 17 and 18 will grip the sleeving and force it over the portion of the mandrel 13 that lies between and within the grooves of the propelling cams, thus expanding the sleeving and rendering it cylindrical. The sleeving, after being expanded by the mandrel 1.3, will be pushed onto the rod 47, which is smaller in diameter than the mandrel. vVhen it has been moved over the portion 47 a distance that represents the desired length of sleeve, the mechanism for withdrawing the receiving rod i7 and also for operating the cutting mechanism, will be set in motion. The timing of these operations is controlled by the positioning of the cams 10 and 12 which are carried by the gears 7 and 9 shown in Fig. 1. As soon as the desired length of sleeving has been forced over the rod 47 the cam 10 comes in contact with one arm of the crank 11 and the direction of motion of this crank will be such as to cause the rod 32 to move to the left. This motion is trans lated by the crank 33 so as to exert a pull upon the rod 3e. This causes the trigger 35 to be disengaged from the pin e0 (which fixedly connected with the end portion of the slide 37) and permits the movement towards the right of the carriage 8 Since the receiving rod 47 is rigidly attached to the carriage 36, this act withdraws the said rod from the expanded sleeving. This not only permits the knife to cut freely through the expanded portion of the sleeving but also permits the cut section to drop through the base of the machine into a suitable container. For the sake of simplicity, such collecting apparatus has not been shown but it will be understood that any suitable form of such apparatus may be readily associated with the aforedescribed machine.

As soon as the receiving rod 47 has been withdrawn suiiiciently to permit the knifeblade to pass freely through the sleeving, the mechanism for cutting is set in motion and the timing of this operation is controlled by the positioning of the cam 12 which is carried by the gear 9. This cam, which moves in a clockwise direction, is arranged to make contact with the arm 49 of the crank 42, shown in Fig. 3. This causes the lower end of the crank to which the knife-holder is connected, to move to the right and forces the blade across and down through the expanded sleeving to such an extent as to completely sever the extruded portion of the sleeving from the main body thereof. As soon as the out section of the sleeving falls, the cam 10 will have moved out of engagementwith the arm of the crank 11. This permits the return of the carriage 36, which is effected by the spring 50, one end of which is connected with the carriage and the other end with the base of the machine. As soon as the carriage returns to its normal position, the detent ll of the trig ger 35 coacts with the pin to keep the carriage j 'gid-iduring the next cycle of the operat on forc ng the sleeving over the mandrel.

We 1 le the invention has been described ,as embodied-in a particular form, it will be apparen it is capable .of em odim ntin other forms which are the equivalentof those shown without departing from the spirit and ope o t e appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for producing insulating Sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel, of means to force the insulating sleeving over said mandrel to beexpanded eh, receiving means substantially coal with said mandrel and in contact therew th to keep said mandrel in position during forcing of the sleeving thereover, and to v j-ve the sleeving expanded by said manmeans to withdraw said receiving means out the expanded sleeving.

2. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel, of means to force the insulating .sleeving over said mandrel. to be expanded thereby, receiving means substantially coat wi h said mandrel and in contact there- -w s ep said mandrel in position during the forcing .of the sleeving theneover, and to receive the sleevingexpanded by said man- ;yel, means controlled by the operation of ans to with raw said receivmeans from the expanded s ewing, and means a s ntrolled by said tor ing means to eut the expanded s-leeving.

a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel of means to force the insulating ele ting over sa d mandrel, the said forcing means being so designed as to beefl'ective duringa .prec letermined interval of time, receiving means in contact with said mandrel to prevent its longitudinal movement and to receive the expanded portion of said sleeving, and means to remove said receiving means from contact with said mandrel during the interval in which said forcing means remains ineffective to force the sleeving over said mandrel.

4. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel of means to force the insulating sleeving over said mandrel, the said forcing means being so designed as to be effective during a predetermined interval of time, receiving means in contact with said mandrel to prevent its longitudinal movement and to receive the expanded portion of said sleeving, means to remove said receiving means from contact with said mandrel during the interval Y in which the said forcing means is ineffective to force the sleeving over the mandrel, and means to cut that part of the expanded sleeving from which the said receiving means has been withdrawn. 7

from the expanded sleeving, and means to 5. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel of a plurality of simultaneously coacting cams having roughened grooves there in to force sleeving over said mandrel, holding means in contact with said mandrel to prevent its motion during the forcing operation of said cams, and means to rotate the said cams, the said rotating means having means associated therewith to effect the removal of the said holding means from contact with the said mandrel. I

6. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel of a plurality of simultaneously coacting cams having roughened grooves therein to force sleeving over said mandrel, holding means in contact with said mandrel to prevent its motion during the forcing operation of said cams, means to cut the expanded sleeving, and means to rotate the said cams, the said rotating means having means associated therewith to efiect the removal of the said holding means from contact with said mandrel and to effect the operation of the said cutting means.

7 In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with an expanding mandrel of rotatable grooved members adapted to support said mandrel within the grooves thereof, a holding device comprising a member normally in contact with said mandrel, and a carriage for supporting said device, said carriage being arranged to withdraw said member from contact with said mandrel and to subsequently restore said contact.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 8th day of December, 1927.

' J. W. CHANNELL. 

